I first met Jerry Fritz some seven years ago at the Philadelphia Flower Show. He had a small display garden with a Spring theme that caught my attention and drew me over for a closer look. It was planted chock-full of both more common plants, such as Cornelian Cherry (cornus mas), as well as "cutting edge" plants, like a lenten rose, 'Ivory Prince,' I had never seen before. And it had a enough of the "blurple" (Jerry's term for blue-purple flowers) 'Walker's Low' catmints to make the garden sing. I came to understand that these attributes, the ordinary, the unusual and the wow factor, all staged to present a distinct and eye catching over-all theme were characteristic of Jerry's gardening style.

Jerry's personality is outgoing. He wasn't content to stand off in the background while people filed by his display. He engaged people in conversation about the garden, fielded questions, poured forth encyclopedic knowledge of garden design and the plants he used. Everything I experienced those fifteen minutes at Jerry's display at the flower show, anyone who reads the book can experience for themselves --in spades. Engaging plant portraits, design features, practical information -- for those of us who live in the snow belt, Where do you put all that snow that has to go somewhere?

Lessons From Linden Hill is also the story of a garden. The step by step, year by year account of the creation of a spectacular garden. Even the various buildings get the special attention they need to play their part in the overall scheme.

Buy this book and you will be inspired to work magic in your own garden. Lessons From Linden Hill is not a book to look through once and put aside. Gardeners will find themselves returning to the book again and again. Those lucky enough to live within driving distance of Linden Hill may return again and again for inspiration and visual delight. Like all gardens, it is never finished. But those who cannot experience the garden first hand, can experience it through the book with its beautiful photography and Jerry's text, making suggestions, answering your questions, encouraging you to plant boldly and create your own slice of paradise. And just like the evolving garden at Linden Hill, there is a hint of another book to come.